Why Are HDMI Cables So Expensive?
Analog Cables
Historically, when you would considering what types and brands of cables to purchase for your television, it was important to choose name brands that were reliable and had raving critic reviews. This was mainly because older analog signals required the best materials available in order to work at their peak performance. Both video and audio would be noticeably better if high end material was used. The price was much higher, but you got great quality that made the difference between an awesome home theater setup and a lousy one. Does this philosophy of buying the most expensive cables ring true today?
Digital Cables
Today, many connections on your TV is digital. Anything that has HDMI or DVI connections are digital and can display resolutions higher than typical analog connections (such as composite, component, and VGA). With digital connections, either they are working one hundred percent perfectly, or they don't work at all. This means that when you connect up that new blue ray player to your TV, you can choose nearly any cable to get the job done and it will be as good as the best cable money can by.
You can think of the analog and digital model like this. When I was a child, I remember trying my best to hook up a large anntenae to my television so I could watch my favorite program. The reception in my area wasn't great. The bigger and better the antenna I purchased, the better my reception got. I spent a lot of money and resources getting the TV reception the best I could. Fast forward to today. With the new digital television signals, my reception for my favorite program either works 100%, or it doesn't. I either see a black screen, or I see my program in high definition. Although the size and type of antenna are important, the point is this--it doesn't matter if I connect my TV up to a metal coat hanger or use a $10 wal mart antenna, it will either work or it will not work. If it works, it doesn't matter how much I spent on the equiptment like I did with the analog TV signal.
Why are HDMI Cables So Expensive?
The reason why cables are so expensive is because companies are taking advantage of consumers' previous knowledge of how things used to be. Since analog and digital cable and technologies are different, it doesn't matter what type of HDMI cable you buy. If it works, it doesn't matter how much you paid for it. Certain retailers try to get consumers to believe that if they spend an extra $20 on this cable, the picture quality will be so much better. This is false information.
Now that you know that it doesn't matter what cables you buy, make the right choice and go for a non-name brand cable. This will save you money without sacrificing any quality.
Where Do I Get Inexpensive Cables?
Like I mentioned before, you can buy simple inexpensive cables from many online retailers.
